Anna-lisa
Thank you for your thoughtful post. I also have experienced male Hispanic patients behaving strong to demonstrate “Machismo”. In my case the patient had a bad leg fracture and refused pain management. Even though I was asking about pain in Spanish (or I think I was) he kept brushing me off and saying he was “fine”. He was not fine, he was clearly suffering and I used a translator to explain that experiencing pain delays healing and is unnecessary. I don’t remember the outcome now, perhaps I was able to give him some Tylenol but I do remember my confusion about his reluctance to take pain medications to avoid looking weak.
Cole and Stewart (2015) talk about making every encounter an opportunity for cross culturally understanding.
Thank you for your thoughtful post. I also have experienced male Hispanic patients behaving strong to demonstrate “Machismo”. In my case the patient had a bad leg fracture and refused pain management. Even though I was asking about pain in Spanish (or I think I was) he kept brushing me off and saying he was “fine”. He was not fine, he was clearly suffering and I used a translator to explain that experiencing pain delays healing and is unnecessary. I don’t remember the outcome now, perhaps I was able to give him some Tylenol but I do remember my confusion about his reluctance to take pain medications to avoid looking weak.
Cole and Stewart (2015) talk about making every encounter an opportunity for cross culturally understanding.